Fight for the Constitutional Rights of Transgender People

In 2017, Trump tweeted that our military would no longer “accept or allow” trans people. The legal saga that is unfolding is complex, but listen up cuz we’re here to break it down for you.

Once again, one of Trump’s tweets triggered a legal battle that is being waged in lower courts. A number of those cases recently made their way to the Supreme Court which decided the narrow question of whether Trump could implement the ban now while it’s constitutionality is still duked out in court. Sadly, on January 22nd the Supreme Court ruled along party lines in favor of allowing Trump to go forward with his ban, for now that is. As a result, the Trump Administration was gearing up to implement its ban, which was to take effect on April 11th.

But on Tuesday, March 19th, Judge Colleen-Kotelly of the US District Court in DC halted the Trump Administration’s plans and issued a notice which states that “Defendants remain bound by this Court’s preliminary injunction to maintain the status quo.” According to Judge Colleen-Kotelly, while the Supreme Court had ruled to set aside three other injunctions, the DC Court of Appeals was not part of that ruling and that court needs to resolve the plaintiffs’ challenge that the transgender policy violates their constitutional rights. A stunned DoJ is evaluating their next steps. Stay tuned for updates!

Meanwhile, there’s some positive action in the other branch of government. Both the Senate and the House have introduced the following legislation: